Frontier Army Warrior

Chapter 1141 Arson on the Ship

Pei Qiyin shook her head: "We are cavalry, good at fighting in the field, but we have no advantage in siege warfare."

Lin Feng nodded and pointed to the intersection of the three rivers.

"The reason why the pirates were able to quickly occupy Meijin County was probably because they used sea transport. There should be many ships at the dock here."

Pei Qiyin frowned and said, "The pirates are skilled in naval warfare, and they have brought so many warships to block the river, which is very disadvantageous for us."

Ye Liangcai scratched his head: "We're having a bad time attacking the city, and we can't fight a naval battle either. This battle is going to be tough."

Pei Qiyin, Ye Liangcai, and Qiao Jushan all looked at Lin Feng with heavy expressions in their eyes.

They had only five hundred men, which was like a pebble thrown into a river among thousands of pirates. It might make a small ripple, but it wouldn't affect the course of the river at all.

Lin Feng pondered for a moment, then turned to look at the gradually darkening sky.

"In that case, let's select some soldiers who are good at swimming and diving, and set a fire for them at night."

Pei Qiyin's eyes lit up: "Burn their warships?"

Ye Liangcai clapped his hands: "That's right, burn their bird boats."

Lin Feng waved his hand: "Let's eat first. After midnight, we'll go out and burn the boat."

The group split up to select people, but Pei Qiyin turned her head and looked at the dark Meijin County in the distance.

"Boss, the county town is too close to the dock. If the fire starts, the pirates will come very quickly."

Lin Feng laughed and said, "We'll send them out of the city to put out the fire, and then we'll attack them from the side. That should be quite effective."

Pei Qiyin laughed as well: "With the boss around, it's a nightmare for the pirates."

"Hmph, if you dare to enter my great territory, you should be prepared to have nightmares."

The Zhenfeng Battalion was in the wilderness surrounded by pirates, and dared not light a fire. They could only eat dry rations and drink cold water.

However, warhorses must be properly maintained.

For a cavalryman, his warhorse is his second life. Lin Feng has repeatedly emphasized that he should treat his warhorse more than his own life.

As soon as midnight passed, the five hundred men of Zhenfeng Camp split into two groups of one hundred each, led by Lin Feng. They gathered some flammable cotton and each carried a tinderbox, and quietly headed towards the intersection of the three rivers.

Another group of four hundred cavalrymen, leading their horses, quietly approached Meijin County and ambushed the town on a flat area about two miles from the main road.

Lin Feng led a group of over a hundred people in burning boats. They entered the Ling River from the upper reaches and drifted downstream towards the Sanchakou. The current was slightly rapid, but they moved very quickly.

The intensive training in swimming techniques has shown remarkable results, with not a single soldier falling behind.

As expected, boats of all sizes were moored at the confluence of the three rivers, forming a long mooring line on the dock.

Some boats had lights on, while others were completely dark.

The procedure for burning the ship has already been explained: three people in a group, upwind, every few days, board the ship to kill and set it on fire, and then escape into the water.

Lin Feng judged that there wouldn't be too many pirates watching the ships; at most a dozen or so people on each ship, sometimes only one or two, and some ships might not even have anyone on board.

If you encounter a large number of warships, you should abandon them, but you must not reveal your presence.

This job was no easy task for Lin Feng. He was on his own, and with one dive, he was nearly a large ship when he resurfaced.

He was looking for the largest ships. Such warships were usually the main force of pirates, fully equipped, powerful, and expensive.

For him, burning such warships would be the greatest achievement.

His dive was the order to begin the operation; the hundred men immediately found their targets, submerged, and made their way to the side of the boat.

As for Lin Feng, he viewed this action as cheating; with a single sweep of his mind, he could grasp the entire situation on the ship.

Using force from the water, he leaped onto the deck and silently approached the cabin.

Sure enough, there were more than a dozen pirates stationed on the front and back of the large ship.

There were still seven or eight pirates sleeping soundly in the cabin.

There was no point in holding back against the pirates. Lin Feng drew his steel knife, quietly approached, and slit their throats one by one.

The more than twenty pirates on the ship died in their sleep.

There was an oil lamp in the cabin, which was very conducive to arson. Lin Feng poured the lamp oil onto the cotton wool and looked around.

It was pitch black, and no one had lit a fire yet.

He paused for the time being, knowing that if he started the fire too early, it would hinder the actions of the others.

Half an hour later, someone suddenly shouted, and it sounded like pirates had discovered something was wrong and were howling loudly.

Immediately afterwards, flames shot up, and then one after another, fires broke out.

Lin Feng felt it was about time, so he lit a fire, set the cotton cloth soaked in kerosene on fire, and threw it around the cabin.

At that moment, a sharp whistle rang out, and the entire dock was thrown into chaos.

The sounds of clashing swords and spears mingled with the sounds of people falling into the water.

Lin Feng didn't move, remaining huddled on the boat, waiting for the fire to escalate.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and the flames on the large ship shot up high. It was clear that the fire was about to be extinguished, and the ship would have to be scrapped.

Lin Feng then climbed off the side of the boat and into the river.

Countless warships on the dock were engulfed in flames. With the help of the night wind, the fires grew larger and larger, and with the wind direction, the fires also set neighboring ships ablaze.

The long river channel was illuminated.

As agreed, after all the soldiers lit the fire, they swam downstream, which was both less strenuous and faster, and they could get away from the scene as soon as possible to ensure their safety.

They would use the dock as a central point and meet up ashore five miles downstream.

Lin Feng remained calm and composed, drifting slowly with the current.

He was waiting for reinforcements from the pirates in Meijin County.

The strategy of besieging the enemy's stronghold and attacking their reinforcements is a classic tactic. When the pirates rushed from the county town to the dock to put out the fire, they would be met with a fierce attack from four hundred cavalry and one hundred warhorses.

When Lin Feng had drifted three or four miles downstream, the roar of galloping warhorses could be heard from the shore.

Within a few breaths, a series of screams and sounds of knives, guns, and flesh colliding rang out.

The pirates' infantry were already unable to withstand the charge of the warhorses, and coupled with their lack of preparedness, the entire pirate rescue team was scattered and broken.

In normal times, they could also use their agility to avoid being hit by warhorses.

It was pitch black, and all that could be heard was the thunder of hooves. The next moment, his body was thrown into the air, and when he crashed to the ground, his consciousness had already vanished into darkness.

Even the strongest body cannot withstand the impact of a galloping warhorse; even if one survives, countless bones will be broken.

This was the first time that the pirate forces that had entered the interior from the coast had suffered such a severe blow. Not only were the soldiers bewildered, but even the pirate leaders were momentarily at a loss.

Mizukawa was a general sent from the homeland of the Daikoku clan. He had three thousand men under his command. They had heard that the Daikoku army was weak, its territory was vast, its land was fertile, and its people were foolish and rich.

So he led a team of three thousand men across the sea by boat and arrived at Dazong.

As expected, Mizukawa, with his three thousand soldiers, fought his way from the estuary to Umezu, west of Rakujo.

The troops, known as the Taisho Imperial Guards, seemed to have no offensive power; they either swept through enemy lines or fled at the mere sight of the Taisho Imperial Guards.

In short, Mizukawa Suke did not exert much effort to penetrate more than two thousand miles into the interior and seize countless treasures.